Today's training was just as fun and exciting as yesterday. I had no issues on the subway (YAY!!), and I got to work around 8:30, so I just hung out with the other interns until 8:45. At 8:45, we headed down to the CO's office and signed it, and he was in charge of our training for the morning. I think it is so cool that the head honchos of visitor services still help out on the floor.
The info desk is basically the heart of the museum. It is usually the first place people stop because the museum itself is so disorienting, and they want some kind of direction on what to do first. We field all kinds of questions, ranging from bathroom locations to Holocaust questions. We basically make sure everything is stocked up because the info desk has tonnnns of brochures. The museum doesn't open until 10, so from 8:45 til then we go get the supplies and restock. Once busy season hits (which is apparently Friday), we will go help hand out passes at the front door. I will have to cover the pass system later because it's complicated and I'm tired.
After info desk training, we covered safety, security, and evacuation. We learned the different codes to call (10-80 for a sick person, 10-91 for abandoned bag, etc.), and we finally got our RADIOS!!! I feel official now. We walked around the building to cover everything with the evac procedures. Also, Wily, the CO who did our info desk training, took us to the control room since we had extra time. It was super high tech. They can zoom ridiculously far in with those cameras. It's kind of scary but comforting at the same time.
We got lunch early, so all of us interns killed time in the museum bookstore. I feel like I kind of freaked them out with my book obsession- I think the people who are close to me understand it, but they didn't take me seriously when I said "I have a problem. Please don't let me buy anything." I only came out with three books, so I feel pretty dang good about myself. I'm still eyeing that encyclopedia of the ghettos and camps though. I got an award from LMU yesterday which included 200 bucks so I feel like it's okay to buy it. But I'm trying not to be super impulsive. I'll keep you updated.
Following lunch was hospitality training with Art, the smoothest employee at the museum. He is so precious. I just love him. He is very funny and likes to joke around a lot; a certain degree of humor is necessary when dealing with such a heavy subject. He shared stories of things we may run into, then we got to hang out until we were divided up between the floors to close the museum down.
"Rovers" walk around the floor (rove: get it?) and let people know when it gets closer to closing time that they only have so many minutes left to view the rest of the exhibit. We have to check the films and make sure they are clear, clear the bathrooms, and move people along. Then at 5:20 the permanent exhibition is officially closed so we can start politely asking people to make their way to the nearest exit. This is when people realize how slow they can actually walk, so we just walk right behind them to keep them moving. After the building is cleared, we're all free to go. The process is a bit more lengthy than what I described, but it's something that has to be shown in order for anyone to understand it, so there's no sense in me wasting all of our time.
Overall, today was yet another amazing day at the USHMM. I am so lucky to have been given this internship. The people I work with are so friendly and helpful, and the group of interns are all so down to earth and easy to get along with. The super fun stuff begins tomorrow because we get to learn how to check big groups in and basically do crowd control outside while they filter through the museum.
Good night!
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